Once again, comedian Mo’Nique and her husband Sidney Hicks have publicly approached CBS to reconsider its deal with herself and her former “The Parkers” co-star, Countess Vaughn.
In a video posted on her Instagram, she asked the network and studio works to make sure the two Black women get fairly compensated for their work on the show from 1999 to 2004.
This is not the first time she has broached renegotiation talks with CBS and Paramount regarding her unfair deal and unpaid royalties. She filed a lawsuit in April 2023 against the companies, hoping to move their hand in court similar to show creators, Ralph Farquhar, Sara Finney-Johnson, and Vida Spears, who sued and settled in 2022.
Like the trio, the couple believes, that CBS used questionable measures to “inflate expenses and suppress profit payments on the show that ran for five seasons and produced more than 110 episodes.
In the video, she and her husband declared that they are standing in solidarity with the Hollywood strikes (UWA/SAGAFTRA) currently going on. She stressed, as she has in the past, that this has been a campaign of fairness that she has been screaming for years. She and her husband also outlined their dispute with CBS.
“Countess Vaughn and I did a show called ‘The Parkers.’ ‘The Parkers’ has now been on air for 24 years and they’re trying to convince us, through our ownership of the show, that we made absolutely no money,” she said.
Sidney adds, “It’s baffling being that when you have a conversation with the executive producers and they allude to the fact that the show in its entirety, five years, was made for under $70 million.”
The comedian and her husband claim that they were able to see “profit participation statements that show the program made over $700 million” in 2009. They say the producers told them that the show was close to $1 billion or $1 billion in the red.
“What we’re asking for CBS is can you please treat these two Black women fairly?” said Mo’Nique.
She and Sidney said they see a viable option to rework their deal like the company did for fellow comedian Dave Chappelle.
In 2020, the “Half Baked” star claimed he was never paid after leaving his comedy sketch series, “Chappelle’s Show,” despite the show airing on Netflix and later HBO Max. He alleged that he didn’t get paid because of a contract he signed with CBSViacom, the parent company of the Comedy Central network “Chappelle’s Show” originally aired on. The streaming service came back and paid Chapelle what he was “rightfully” owed.
“[Dave’s] was a bad deal. They were able to go back and do the right thing and they made that deal fair and they paid Dave Chappelle what he rightfully deserved,” said Mo’Nique. “What we’re asking you CBS, don’t pay us anymore but don’t pay us any less.”
(Chappelle announced in 2021 that he had settled with CBSViacom and obtained licensing rights for “Chappelle’s Show,” which cleared the way for him to earn “millions,” he said then.)
Fans seem to be standing with the “Queens of Comedy” star and her husband on this crusade, cheering for her online.
“My momma and sisters alone watched at least $100,000 worth on repeat. Pay the black woman her worth.”
“MO AINT WRONG SO DONT YALL START. THE PARKERS WAS THE SHOW BACK THEN AND STILL IS TODAY. RUN THEM THEIR MONEY.”
“They better pay them! as much as i be watching The Parkers i know they’re owed a bag!”
on this day — 24 years ago — the spin-off series for moesha, the parkers premiered on the UPN network. mo’nique & countess vaughn being the funniest duo! had me thinking they were irl mother & daughter. pic.twitter.com/fEGyoiNawG
— khalia. | the black lizzie mcguire.🫐🩰 (@VERONASFILMS) August 30, 2023
As Mo’Nique continues to hold her TV daughter down, Vaughn held her TV mom down when she aired out her similar frustration with people who cast doubt on her and Mo’Nique’s fight for what they are owed.
“You know, people trip me out. Always saying like, ya know, ‘We lying oh this is not true.’ Yes give us our money,” she began. “You would be mad if you worked all weekend when its time to get your check, they go, ‘oh the last set of checks should cover it. We paid you already.'”
“No but did you give me for my services now? Today? All the days that you have played our episodes. Pay that,” Vaughn continued. “It’s not fair.”
Fans applauded the 45-year-old for speaking up and many agreed she was owed a separate check for her work on “The Parkers.” One said, “And she needs a separate check for freestyle unity.” Another wrote, “Dangggg Momma line ….alone deserves royalties.”
Other fans went on to share quotes from Malcolm X, including when he stated that Black women were the “most disrespected person in America.” A few explained that contracts are “very specific” in the television and film industry, but some don’t believe streaming was included back in the early 2000s.
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